Civil Contingencies Act

Hertfordshire Resilience has been established following the introduction of the Civil Contingencies Act, which came into force in November 2005. The Act requires Category 1 Responders (Emergency Services, NHS and Local Authorities) to work together to:

Assess the risk of emergencies occurring and use this to inform contingency planning;

Put in place emergency plans;

Put in place Business Continuity Management arrangements;

Put in place arrangements to make information available to the public about civil protection matters and maintain arrangements to warn, inform and advise the public in the event of an emergency;

Share information with other local responders to enhance co-ordination;

Co-operate with other local responders to enhance co-ordination and efficiency; and

Provide advice and assistance to businesses and voluntary organisations about business continuity management (Local Authorities only).

Category 2 Responders (e.g. Health and Safety Executive, transport and utility companies) are "co-operating bodies" are less likely to be involved in the heart of planning work but will be heavily involved in incidents that affect their sector. Category 2 responders have a lesser set of duties - co-operating and sharing relevant information with other Category 1 and 2 responders.

Hertfordshire Resilience co-ordinates and promotes resilience in Hertfordshire. For more information, visit the Hertfordshire Resilience page of the Hertfordshire County Council website.